"This is stupid," Elphaba opined, scrunching her hands into fists in an attempt to prevent them from tearing at the fringed scarf that was tied around her eyes.
"No, it is not. I barely gave you anything for Lurlinemas…"
"I told you not to, so it's fine!"
"But this is your birthday, it's different." Fiyero insisted.
"What? I'm twenty-three, married, my husband is next in line for the throne to pretty much rule the entirety of the Vinkus. Nothing's different except some silly number."
"When you turned twenty-two, we weren't married yet. It's all very different."
"We were engaged, though."
"It doesn't count. Would you please just let me lead you downstairs like a normal person?" Fiyero pleaded, exasperated.
"Only because you sound so desperate. But can't we just do what we did for your birthday?"
"You know I'd love to keep you in bed all day again, but I think once a year is enough for that. If I change my mind, we've still got next year or next Lurlinemas."
"Fine, fine. I'll go. You talk like it's the end of the world if I don't go, so I'll go, only to appease you."
He took Elphaba's hands and led her down the stairs into the area that connected their living room and dining room, which was pretty much a large open hallway. "That's not a good reason, but whatever gets you downstairs will do right now."
"What are you planning?" She asked suspiciously. "Did you buy yet another piece of furniture for us to 'try out' again?"
A squeal erupted from their left. Fiyero groaned.
"I know that sound!"
Fiyero grumbled and removed the makeshift blindfold. "Surprise?"
"Surprise!" Boq, Crope, Tibbett, Glinda, Nessa, Nanny, Shell and even Frex were around the dining room table. Fiyero's family was there, too.
Elphaba buried her face in her hands. "I can't believe I said what I said in front of… oh, sweet Oz."
Fiyero caught her as she pretended to faint and laughed. "I tried to keep you from talking so much. If you'd only listened!"
"Now, this furniture thing," Crope began seriously, "when you two 'break in' a piece of furniture, is it only couches, lazy chairs and beds?"
"Or is it tables and countertops, too?" Tibbett added.
"If I ever hear either of you say a word about that comment again, I will castrate you!" She threatened. "Oh, wait," Elphaba thought the better of that, "you'd probably like that. Well, whatever, you know what I mean."
Crope and Tibbett giggled madly.
Elphaba rolled her eyes at them and sat down next to Glinda. There was another empty seat (presumably Fiyero's) on her other side. She smiled brightly at her best friend. "I've missed you so much! How long has it been, now?"
"Almost a year." Glinda told her. "Have you received the letter from the Wizard, too?"
"Yes. Fiyero insists on coming with. We'll be going in a few days, actually."
Glinda nodded. "Excited?"
Elphaba turned away for a minute, blinking. "I guess so. I don't know."
Fiyero settled into the seat next to her, then. "Did Glinda tell you, yet?"
"What?"
"That we're all leaving from here. Nanny and Nessa, you and I, and Glinda. Each group has one carriage. I doubt the hotel situation should be a problem, as we're married now."
Elphaba smiled. "Well, maybe. But then again, Nessa… you know they believe that sex is only supposed to be used for reproduction, but on the nights when I might conceive, we…"
Fiyero cut her off by squeezing her hand. "Hush! It's a very, very new invention; she probably doesn't know they exist, so as far as she knows, we just do it every night without trying to prevent pregnancy. Therefore, it's fine."
"Glinda will be all alone," Elphaba looked back at her friend.
Glinda shrugged. "I'll be fine. It'll be better than last time, anyway. I'd rather be able to do as I wish than listen to Nessa ranting about you two and your behavior."
"See?" Fiyero nudged her. "It works out."
"Now, Elphie, tell me something…" Glinda asked as Fiyero got up and headed over to talk to his mother. "What the hell were you two just talking about?"
"Nothing. It's just a birth-control sort of thing. The midwife's husband runs an underground sort of convenience store, and apparently out here someone developed an interesting form of contraception. That's all I'm saying." Elphaba held her hands up.
"Oooh, I've never heard of anything being able to prevent pregnancy unless you just… well, don't. Come on, Elphie, tell!"
"Why does it matter to you? You're not having sex; it's nothing you need to know about." Elphaba folded her arms across her chest.
"Please?" Glinda pouted.
Elphaba simply shook her head. She pushed out her chair and went to speak with her family. Nanny had disappeared a moment ago and so Elphaba stole her seat for the time being. "Hello Nessa, Father, Shell."
Nessa nodded solemnly in acknowledgement of the greeting. "Hello, sister."
Shell, fifteen now, was looking distractedly across the table at one of Fiyero's younger sisters, who looked to be about his age. "Your husband and his family… why do they have such strange markings?"
"It's a tribal thing," Elphaba explained. She figured elaborating would bore her little brother. "Why?"
"Nothing. It's just… it looks very interesting against the dark skin."
"They've got dark skin because of the weather out here. In the summer it's very, very hot, you know, and over time it's caused them to end up with browner skin, without having to let the sun make it that way, first." Elphaba wasn't quite sure how to really tell her brother about this, but she didn't feel like a long, drawn-out story would do any good. "What does it matter to you?"
"None." Shell shook himself out of his half-stupor. "Who is the one with the silver half-moons on her skin?"
Elphaba glanced where her brother was staring. "Oh, Juni? She's fourteen, actually. Her poor mother. Doesn't want to part with her yet, but she knows the marriage is to be arranged soon, as it should've been before now."
"She has to get married?"
"No, no, silly. But her mother has to arrange whom she will marry once she turns about sixteen. The man will likely be twenty or so."
"Isn't that unfair?"
Elphaba laughed. "Why don't you discuss that with Fiyero? He'd definitely agree there. He swears that our future children will be sent to school and be allowed to choose. I think that's a good idea. If his parents had been a bit stricter, we wouldn't be standing here right now. I don't know what Juni thinks about it."
"She doesn't complain?"
"She's a nice girl. She obeys her mother. I don't talk to her much, Shell. I don't live in the castle, you know."
"Oh, yeah."
"Why don't you talk to her? Juni!" Elphaba called the young girl's name. "Come here."
The girl listened and was next to Elphaba in the blink of an eye. "Yes?"
"This is my brother, Shell. He was curious about the 'marriage tradition' and how the teenagers might feel about it. Seeing as I can't give him that perspective very well, why don't you talk with him?"
Juni nodded and took the seat Elphaba offered her shyly. "What do you want to know?" She asked quietly.
Elphaba crept away from the table, smiling to herself. She wondered what Fiyero was up to.
He was reading a letter out loud to himself in the front hall. "'… If madam should find it necessary to bring a visitor to the actual meeting, the Wizard must be contacted at least twenty-four hours in advance… please dress and behave appropriately…' that might not go well," he mumbled.
"Are you worrying about the entire Wizard thing again?" She said from the hallway, leaning against the wall.
He dropped the letter. "Guilty as charged?"
She went to him. "Don't get so worked up. It'll be fine, I promise you. Nothing can make me leave you, love."
On the second night of the trip, Fiyero and Elphaba were stuck with the room between Nessa and Nanny's and Glinda's. They were lying in bed completely silent when Fiyero suddenly sat up. "Elphaba, I don't care what the hell they're going to hear, I'm not going to just lie next to you on a night we'd normally make love and pretend that you're not even next to me."
Elphaba took a deep breath, but did not sit up. "We can't. I will not keep my sister or Glinda awake. That would be unfair. You know how it might bother them, Fiyero."
"In the carriage, then?"
"No! Fiyero, for Oz's sake, we don't need to have sex!"
"But we want to."
"You want to."
"You do, too."
"What makes you say that?"
He turned the light on and tore the covers away from them. "Look at me."
She gazed at his face. "What?"
"I mean look at all of me."
Elphaba would not lower her eyes.
"See? You won't because you know the minute you do, you're not going to be able to hide that you want to make love with me, too. Fae, please?"
Elphaba groaned, aggravated. "Please don't make me do this."
"I'd never make you do anything." He shifted so it was unavoidable that his chest was in her view.
She closed her eyes. "Not with force… Damn it, you're not fair!" Elphaba snapped her eyes open, sat up and kissed him deeply. "I'll never forgive you for this."
He rolled his eyes. "I think you'll be begging me for mercy in a few minutes."
And so Elphaba stood hiding behind Fiyero as they checked out of the hotel, pretending not to see Glinda's taunting eyes or Nessa's scornful ones as they exited the building.
Nanny strode by her as she pushed Nessa towards the carriage. Under her breath, she mocked, "'Oh, Fiyero, I love you so much, please Fiyero, I love you, I love you!' We get it, you love him, shut up about it." She cackled as she walked away.
Elphaba stared after her.
Fiyero shoved her carefully towards the carriage, "Come on." As she stepped in and he got in after her, he kissed her forehead. "I love you." He looked at her, expecting a response.
She glared at him. "You get it, I love you, now shut up." Elphaba grunted.